Written Answers Thursday 27 April 2006

Scottish Executive

Air Services

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it plans to take to promote direct air links with Australia.

Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive’s Route Development Fund has been designed to work with the aviation market to bring forward direct air services where it can be demonstrated that services should be able to operate on a long-term sustainable basis. We have examined the possibility of a direct Australian service and concluded that the underlying demand is not sufficient to compete with the range and frequency of services available from the hub airports at this time. We are, however, continuing to work to increase the range and choice of services from Scotland which will connect to Australia.

Asylum Seekers

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children under the age of five who come from asylum seeker or refugee families it estimates are not benefiting from pre-school care or nursery provision, broken down by local authority area, and what the equivalent figures were for each year since 2000.

Robert Brown: The information requested is not held centrally.

Autism

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-24179 by Lewis Macdonald on 24 March 2006, in what way this answer indicates whether the Executive has any plans to implement the Charter of Rights for People with Autism as adopted by the European Parliament.

Lewis Macdonald: The rights of all Scottish citizens are protected under the European Convention on Human Rights, the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Scotland Act 1998. It is therefore not appropriate for the Scottish Executive to adopt separate rights for people with autism spectrum disorders, such as the European Charter of Rights for People with Autism.

  However, the National Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) Reference Group has formed a new subgroup that will focus on Policy into Practice and Commissioning of services for people with ASD. This group aims to provide guidance for commissioners and service providers to ensure the needs of people with ASD are being met with respect to those rights in the Charter that relate to service provision.

Autism

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many requests for placement were made by local authorities to (a) Struan House School, Alloa and (b) New Struan in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority.

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many learning support units there are in mainstream schools suitable for children with autistic spectrum disorder in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority area.

Robert Brown: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Autism

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what research it is undertaking on the effectiveness of the mainstreaming of children with additional support needs.

Robert Brown: In 2003, the Executive commissioned the Scottish Council for Research in Education (SCRE) to examine the impact of the policy that requires education authorities to, wherever possible, mainstream pupils with special educational needs (SEN). The research assessed how education authorities implemented the new duty and the impact of the mainstreaming policy, and examined the ways in which different policies and practices impacted on parents, teachers, and pupils with SEN, including pupils with autistic spectrum disorder, and their peers.

  The findings were published in the Impact of the Presumption of Mainstreaming Research report on 13 January 2006, a copy of which is available at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/01/05142243/0 and

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/01/12121142/0.

Autism

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has undertaken on the effectiveness of the mainstreaming of children with autistic spectrum disorder.

Robert Brown: I refer the member to the answers to questions S2W-24996 and S2W-24998 on 27 April 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Autism

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what comparisons it has made of the effectiveness of the education of children with autistic spectrum disorder in mainstream schools and in specialist schools, such as Struan House.

Robert Brown: No comparisons have been made. The most important principle is to meet the needs of the individual child or young person in the most appropriate setting, whether that is in a mainstream school, a special school, a specialist school like Struan House or a combination.

  I recognise however that there is a need to evaluate educational provision for pupils with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) in these settings and that is why Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education are conducting a specific inspection of educational provision for children and young people with ASD across Scotland. The inspection began in April 2005 and will conclude shortly with a report due in late summer.

Autism

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to fund ABA therapy education for children with autism.

Robert Brown: The main Scottish Executive support for local authority net revenue expenditure on additional support needs, including autistic spectrum disorders, is provided through Revenue Support grant. This is an unhypothecated grant and expenditure on individual areas, such as particular interventions, is a matter for each authority taking into account local needs and priorities. For information on the latest allocations of grant to individual local authorities, I refer the member to the Scottish Executive’s Finance Circular 8/2005 which can be viewed at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/local-government/17999/11203.

Avian Influenza

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how it is keeping poultry farmers informed of the actions they should take following the identification of a case of avian flu.

Ross Finnie: Following the establishment of a wild bird protection zone and wild bird surveillance zone the Scottish Executive telephoned all registered poultry keepers in those areas. Those contacts were followed up by inspection visits to the premises by the State Veterinary Service.

  My department wrote to all poultry keepers in the wild bird protection and surveillance zones and the wild bird risk area informing them of legal obligations and good biosecurity practice. My department also wrote to Scottish poultry keepers outside these zones highlighting the importance of good biosecurity and vigilance for signs of disease.

  In addition, the Executive has been meeting frequently with the poultry industry stakeholder group to ensure the industry was fully informed of developments and that the Executive was alert to any emerging issues. Stakeholder groups acted as an invaluable link to their members in helping to disseminate information.

Avian Influenza

Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive whether consideration has been given to designating as "wild bird risk areas" the south bank of the Firth of Forth and the eastern part of Lothian and Borders, including the Bass Rock and Inchcape islands.

Ross Finnie: On confirmation of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza a veterinary risk assessment was made to assess the appropriate size and location of the Wild Bird Risk Area, and how far it should extend from the wild bird surveillance zone round Cellardyke. In addition to veterinary and epidemiological advice, the assessment also drew upon expert ornithological advice. The risk assessment was reviewed following confirmation that the swan was a Whooper. This confirmed that the measures were relevant and proportional.

Central Heating

Euan Robson (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the central heating scheme will be amended to lower the qualification age for those wishing only to replace a heating appliance.

Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-24143 on 14 March 2006 which outlines my intentions for fuel poverty programmes going forward. From January 2007 the Central Heating Programme will allow for repairs to broken systems where this is economic. However, the programme will continue to be targeted at those aged 60 and over.

Drug Misuse

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were charged with possession of crystal methamphetamine in each of the last 10 years.

Hugh Henry: The available information is given in the following table. Statistics for years prior to 2001-02 are not held centrally.

  Persons Proceeded Against in Scottish Courts for Possession of Methylamphetamine1, 2001-02 to 2004-05

  

 Year
 Number


 2001-02
 2


 2002-03
 5


 2003-04
 3


 2004-05
 1



  Note: 1. Where main offence. Figures may be underestimates as information on drug type is not known for some possession offences.

Drug Misuse

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were convicted of possession of crystal methamphetamine in each of the last 10 years.

Hugh Henry: The available information is given in the following table. Statistics for years prior to 2001-02 are not held centrally.

  Persons with a Charge Proved in Scottish Courts for Possession of Methylamphetamine1, 2001-02 to 2004-05

  

 Year
 Number


 2001-02
 2


 2002-03
 5


 2003-04
 3


 2004-05
 1



  Note: 1. Where main offence. Figures may be underestimates as information on drug type is not known for some possession offences.

Drug Misuse

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what research it has carried out on the prevalence of crystal methamphetamine in Scotland.

Hugh Henry: To date the Scottish Executive has not carried out any research on the prevalence of crystal methamphetamine in Scotland. The Scottish Crime and Victimisation Survey 2006 will for the first time include questions on awareness and use of crystal methamphetamine. Results from this survey should be available by June 2007.

Drug Misuse

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what priority it places on providing rehabilitation services for drug addicts.

Hugh Henry: Our strategy for tackling drug misuse is focused on outcomes such as the drug-free life, the crime-free life and a journey back into education, family life or employment. That means offering a wide range of options to those seeking help, tailored to individual needs and circumstance. A variety of approaches, which are all effective when used appropriately, can contribute to recovery – abstinence approaches, residential approaches, detoxification approaches and harm reduction approaches.

  Drug action teams are responsible for the strategic planning and co-ordination of action to tackle drug misuse in their area. When developing drug treatment and rehabilitation services, drug action teams and their local partners assess the level of need in their areas and have to ensure that the treatment needs of their local drug using population are met.

Drug Misuse

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is considering implementing alternatives to methadone therapy for recovering drug addicts.

Hugh Henry: Decisions on treatment interventions and options for addressing other needs are for individual patients and their medical and social professionals. We are encouraging a wide range of options: increasing the range of treatments available locally was one of three criteria for allocating the additional £4 million of drug treatment funding available from 2005-06.

Drug Misuse

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what support services are available for the families of drug addicts.

Hugh Henry: The Scottish Executive provided £75,000 over 2005-07 to the Scottish Network for Families Affected by Drugs (SNFAD). The funding is used to run a national telephone line to support families affected by drug misuse and to assist community based groups which provide support to families of drug addicts. Detailed information on the services available at a local level is available by contacting the relevant Alcohol and Drug Action Team.

Eating Disorders

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many eating disorder-related deaths there have been in each year since 1999.

George Lyon: The information requested is presented in the following table.

  Deaths from Eating Disorders1, Scotland, 1999-2004

  

 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004


 3
 2
 1
 2
 5
 6



  Note: 1. 1999: ICD9 codes 307.1 (Anorexia nervosa) and 307.5 (Other and unspecified disorders of eating), 2000-04: ICD10 codes F50.0 - F50.9 (Eating disorders).

Education

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent on recruitment advertising for teachers in each year since 1999.

Mr Tom McCabe: I refer the member to the answer to question S1W-26485 on 3 July 2002 providing information on all advertising spend, including the teacher recruitment campaign, by the Scottish Office/Scottish Executive Departments from 1991-92 to 2001-02.

  In the year’s 2002-03 and 2003-04 the Teacher Recruitment advertising campaign did not run.

  Information on the Scottish Executive’s advertising spend for 2004-05 can be found at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/Departments/FCSD/17963/adspend05.

  Scottish Executive advertising spend for the teacher recruitment campaign 2005-06 are detailed below:

  

 Year
 Spend


 2005-06 (not reconciled)
£618,668.60



  All figures quoted are gross amounts (including VAT).

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Education

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received from City of Edinburgh Council regarding composite classes.

Peter Peacock: We have received no such representations.

Education

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what studies it has commissioned into the use of composite classes in primary schools and their effect on a child’s education; whom the Executive commissioned to carry out these studies; what their findings were, and whether, if no such studies were commissioned, they will now be commissioned.

Peter Peacock: Composite classes have been a common feature in Scottish primary schools for many years. In 2002 the Scottish Executive commissioned the Scottish Council for Research in Education (SCRE) to undertake a literature review of the available research on composite classes.

  In her report entitled All In Together?, published in March 2003, Dr Valerie Wilson concluded that most research revealed no significant difference in the achievement of pupils in composite and single grade classes. The report also highlights that research indicates that children can benefit both intellectually and socially through interaction with older children from being in composite classes. There is therefore no evidence that that children taught in composite classes will be disadvantaged. Indeed were it so, much of the school provision in rural Scotland would be delivering sub-standard levels of education. That is clearly not the case, and high levels of educational achievement are in no way inconsistent with composite classes.

  The report can be viewed online at http://www.scre.ac.uk/resreport/pdf/113.pdf.

Employment

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will (a) publish and (b) implement its employability framework.

Allan Wilson: We aim to publish the Employability Framework within the next two months.

  The framework is intended to support local partnerships in seven priority areas to achieve targets to reduce worklessness in their areas by 2010. The framework will support the actions needed to achieve these targets.

Enterprise

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to set up a scheme similar to the Local Authority Business Growth Incentives scheme which has operated in England since April 2005.

Mr Tom McCabe: Scottish ministers reviewed proposals to allow councils to retain some buoyancy from business rates as part of the Cities Review and, following that review, established the Cities Growth Fund, which will provide around £173 million to Scotland’s six cities over the period April 2003 to March 2008.

  We are keeping under review whether there may be scope for a business growth incentive scheme in Scotland in the future. As part of these considerations we are keeping in touch with the operation of the Business Growth Incentive Scheme in England, including a review of that scheme following its first year of operation.

Environment

Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Dalgety Bay Forum regarding the placing of signs on Dalgety Bay beach warning of low radioactivity.

Ross Finnie: The Executive is represented on the Dalgety Bay Forum and participated in the discussions on the 4 April, resulting in the recommendation to Fife Council to place signs at the Dalgety Bay beach to advise members of the public of the potential for exposure to radioactive materials.

Fire Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what costs have been incurred in each year since 2001, broken down by fire authority area, on (a) vehicle fuel and (b) transport.

Hugh Henry: This is a matter for the Fire and Rescue authorities. Not all the information requested is held centrally.

  For fuel costs from 2001-02 to 2004-05 I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-19098 on 22 September 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Fisheries

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive what response it has had to its public consultation about legislation on freshwater fishing.

Rhona Brankin: The Executive is currently analysing 436 written responses to the public consultation on the Aquaculture and Fisheries Bill, which closed on 3 March 2006.

  Over half of those who responded to the consultation gave views on questions relating to freshwater fisheries. In addition, over 400 people took part in the ten public meetings held throughout Scotland as part of the consultation process.

  The Executive’s analysis will be published shortly.

Fisheries

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many jobs have been lost as a result of last year’s merger between Marine Harvest and Stolt-Nielsen.

Rhona Brankin: This information is not held centrally and it is difficult to estimate the number of job losses directly attributable to the merger because changes may have occurred in the businesses anyway.

Fisheries

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to the Office of Fair Trading and the EC Directorate-General for Competition in respect of the proposed merger of Pan Fish and Marine Harvest, in light of concerns expressed by both Highland Council and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar on this issue.

Rhona Brankin: We are in contact with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). It is not yet clear whether the proposed merger would fall to be considered by the OFT or the European Commission (EC) authorities. If it falls to the EC, the OFT would still have to consider whether the criteria for referral back to the UK competition authorities are met.

Fisheries

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will take to safeguard standards for treatment of chemical wastes from Scottish salmon farms, in light of Pan Fish’s stated aim of "lowest cost production" resulting from its proposed merger with Marine Harvest.

Rhona Brankin: Following the introduction of the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2005 (CAR) on 1 April 2006, all discharges into the water environment will be subject to authorisation by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). CAR replaces a number of other regulatory regimes, including the Control of Pollution Act 1974 (CoPA), the Groundwater Regulations 1998 and part of the Pollution Prevention and Control Act (PPC).

  Under the new regulations, it will be up to SEPA to determine what treatment of the chemical waste prior to any discharge is appropriate in order to protect the water environment. Authorisations may impose conditions on the operator, such as limits on amounts of discharge or treatment of chemical effluents before its discharge into the water environment.

  The Regulations are based on a source-to-sea approach, so the wider effects of discharges can be measured, monitored and controlled.

Forestry

Mr John Home Robertson (East Lothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding and staffing is provided from Executive sources, including the Forestry Commission and Scottish Enterprise, for the Confederation of Forest Industries (ConFor); what proportion of ConFor’s budget this represents, and whether it is satisfied that ConFor has the support or active participation of a sufficient number of Scotland’s forest and timber businesses to justify such support from public funds.

Rhona Brankin: Scottish Enterprise has a contract with ConFor for the provision of services to support the forest industries. The contract for 2005-06 was for £112,000 and covered services provided by ConFor’s co-ordinator for the Scottish Forest Industries Cluster, and its Productivity Executive. ConFor also has a Timber Transport Forum Project Manager who will play a key role in the operation of the £13 million Strategic Timber Transport Fund. Both Scottish Enterprise and the Forestry Commission contribute towards the cost of this post - £25,000 and £17,000 per annum respectively. The Forestry Commission has one member of staff on secondment to ConFor, covering its Policy and Projects post. The post holder mainly works on promoting sustainable development in the forestry sector throughout UK, so the funding comes from the Forestry Commission’s Westminster Vote. We have no information on ConFor’s budget, but we are content that the payments we have made have been justified as ConFor is the leading representative body for forest industries in Scotland, and the rest of the UK.

Freedom of Information Act (Scotland) 2002

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many freedom of information (FOI) requests each of its departments has received; how many FOI requests have been answered in full; how many have been refused; how many have been answered partially; of the refusals and partial answers, how many have been the subject of an appeal to the relevant department; how many of these appeals have been upheld; how many have been the subject of an appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner, and how many of these appeals have been upheld.

Margaret Curran: A report covering the first six months of requests handling by the Executive was published on the Executive website in October 2005:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/11/monitor.

  A copy was also placed in the Parliament’s reference centre. The report includes details on numbers of requests and outcomes. A further report covering the whole of 2005 is planned for publication during the week beginning 24 April. Information about 2006 requests handling will be published later in the year. Information about requests which are appealed to the Scottish Information Commissioner and his decisions are published on his website at http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/.

Fresh Talent Initiative

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to promote employment opportunities in Scotland and the Fresh Talent initiative at careers events at higher education institutions in Australia.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Executive’s current activities to promote Fresh Talent overseas do not include attendance at any careers events in Australia.

  However, we are working closely with partners, such as the FCO, the British Council and Scottish Development International (SDI), to look for opportunities to promote Fresh Talent overseas. For example, the opening of an SDI office in Australia could result in new opportunities for the Executive to work closely with SDI to promote Fresh Talent in Australia.

Housing

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a local authority is required under the provisions of Part 6 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 to take into account the financial circumstances of applicants for improvement and repair grants and whether an authority is committing an offence if it fails to do so.

Johann Lamont: Improvement and repair grants must be given subject to the provisions of Part 13 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987, as amended by Part 6 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001. One of those provisions is that the amount of grant is based on an assessment of the financial circumstances of the applicant, as set out in regulations. This ensures that public funds are targeted towards those on the lowest incomes.

  A local authority which failed to comply with these provisions in giving improvement and repair grants would not be committing an offence, but would be acting outwith its powers.

Justice

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many diversion from prosecution schemes are operating, broken down by local authority area.

Cathy Jamieson: The Executive provides funding of over £1 million per year to local authorities in Scotland to support schemes designed to divert accused persons to social work and other social work agencies. In line with national guidance, these schemes, which currently operate in all local authority areas, target one or more particular type of accused (female accused, accused of a young age, accused with mental illness, drug or alcohol misusing accused).

Justice

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been diverted into diversion from prosecution schemes in each year since 2000, broken down by local authority area.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information on diversions from prosecution to social work interventions is given in the following table.

  Number of Criminal Justice Social Work Diversion from Prosecution Cases Commenced, by Local Authority, 2001-02 to 2004-05

  

 Local Authority
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05


 Aberdeen City
 20
 34
 50
 30


 Aberdeenshire
 28
 30
 26
 40


 Angus
 7
 45
 20
 31


 Argyll and Bute
 7
 5
 3
 6


 Clackmannanshire
 12
 19
 18
 19


 Dumfries and Galloway
 34
 33
 -
 20


 Dundee City
 -
 79
 35
 6


 East Ayrshire
 15
 8
 3
 2


 East Dunbartonshire
 3
 13
 12
 1


 East Lothian
 22
 6
 23
 32


 East Renfrewshire
 1
 -
 2
 3


 Edinburgh, City of
 101
 81
 248
 271


 Eilean Siar
 3
 -
 5
 2


 Falkirk
 6
 52
 117
 52


 Fife
 61
 68
 80
 30


 Glasgow City
 43
 42
 128
 25


 Highland
 14
 25
 71
 13


 Inverclyde
 21
 14
 14
 6


 Midlothian1
 -
 -
 -
 -


 Moray
 15
 22
 -
 4


 North Ayrshire
 15
 9
 7
 30


 North Lanarkshire
 72
 41
 93
 104


 Orkney Islands
 10
 6
 7
 13


 Perth and Kinross
 95
 65
 46
 2


 Renfrewshire
 39
 20
 17
 11


 Scottish Borders
 20
 9
 19
 37


 Shetland Islands
 3
 10
 2
 12


 South Ayrshire
 10
 14
 9
 8


 South Lanarkshire
 82
 134
 126
 111


 Stirling
 6
 24
 41
 37


 West Dunbartonshire
 21
 30
 16
 10


 West Lothian
 90
 77
 102
 96


 Scotland
 876
 1,015
 1,340
 1,064



  Note: 1. Midlothian buy into Edinburgh for this service since there is no sheriff court in their authority.

Justice

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what contact there was between Justice Department officials and officials from the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) between May 2005 and February 2006 in relation to (a) the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Bill and the preceding consultation and (b) the DCA White Paper, The Future of Legal Services: Putting Consumers First , and what topics were discussed by those officials.

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what contact there was between Scottish ministers and Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) ministers between May 2005 and February 2006 in relation to (a) the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Bill and the preceding consultation and (b) the DCA White Paper, The Future of Legal Services: Putting Consumers First , and what topics were discussed by those ministers.

Hugh Henry: The regulation of the legal profession is a devolved matter within the responsibility of the Scottish Ministers. However as a matter of good practice DCA and Scottish Executive keep each other informed about a variety of initiatives of mutual interest.

Legal Services Ombudsman

Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to appoint a Scottish Legal Services Ombudsman.

Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it took to appoint a Scottish Legal Services Ombudsman after receiving notification of the resignation of Linda Costelloe Baker.

Hugh Henry: Mrs Linda Costelloe Baker tendered her resignation on 25 January this year and her period of notice expired on 25 April. An advertisement to recruit a new Scottish Legal Services Ombudsman was published on 31 March 2006.

  To ensure that there is no gap in office, Jane Irvine has been appointed as Scottish Legal Services Ombudsman with effect from 26 April 2006 until such time as a successor to Mrs Linda Costelloe Baker is identified.

Local Government Expenditure

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive to provided details of the costs incurred by each local authority in operating (a) school buses and (b) mobile libraries in each of the last three years.

Mr Tom McCabe: Local authorities notify the Executive of their annual revenue expenditure in the local financial returns (LFRs). These forms include expenditure on school transport which is expenditure incurred under sections 50 and 51 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980. This includes buses, taxis and any other transport costs arising from the transport of children to school. The gross expenditure on school transport by local authorities in the last three years for which information is available is set out in the table below.

  Although the LFR returns include a figure for total library expenditure this is not broken down to mobile library service level and the majority of the total relates to other library costs. Information on mobile libraries is not therefore held centrally. Further information on library provision across Scotland may be obtained from the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) at Building C, Brandon Gate, Leechlee Road, Hamilton, ML3 6AU (telephone 01698 458 888).

  Local Authority Gross Revenue Expenditure on School Transport

  

 Gross Expenditure
2002-03 (£000)
2003-04 (£000)
2004-05 (£000)


 Scotland
 104,609
 111,019
 114,797


 Aberdeen City
 2,444
 2,380
 2,048


 Aberdeenshire
 10,582
 10,762
 11,314


 Angus
 1,746
 2,109
 1,995


 Argyll and Bute
 4,932
 5,464
 4,585


 Clackmannanshire
 706
 741
 824


 Dumfries and Galloway
 1,076
 1,131
 1,118


 Dundee City
 586
 803
 934


 East Ayrshire
 3,322
 3,562
 3,541


 East Dunbartonshire
 2,423
 2,771
 2,923


 East Lothian
 1,716
 1,703
 1,558


 East Renfrewshire
 1,914
 2,037
 2,011


 Edinburgh City
 3,398
 3,419
 3,824


 Eilean Siar
 1,821
 1,877
 1,888


 Falkirk
 2,443
 2,561
 2,708


 Fife
 7,259
 7,842
 8,765


 Glasgow City
 8,868
 9,258
 9,535


 Highland
 8,403
 8,780
 8,715


 Inverclyde
 952
 739
 796


 Midlothian
 1,232
 1,307
 1,343


 Moray
 2,348
 2,481
 2,538


 North Ayrshire
 2,850
 2,971
 3,424


 North Lanarkshire
 6,415
 6,573
 6,989


 Orkney Islands
 1,085
 1,155
 1,308


 Perth and Kinross
 3,908
 4,260
 4,552


 Renfrewshire
 2,266
 2,252
 2,523


 Scottish Borders
 3,029
 3,464
 3,657


 Shetland Islands
 1,473
 1,543
 1,694


 South Ayrshire
 2,377
 2,500
 2,513


 South Lanarkshire
 6,156
 7,235
 7,582


 Stirling
 1,964
 2,054
 2,271


 West Dunbartonshire
 1,334
 1,446
 1,530


 West Lothian
 3,581
 3,839
 3,791

Local Government Finance

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what provision is made in local authority grant aided expenditure allocations for the funding of effective methods of consulting local people on local or national issues.

Mr Tom McCabe: There is no specific grant aided expenditure provision included within the core local government finance settlement in respect of local authorities’ expenditure incurred consulting local people on local or national issues. The core local government finance settlement to local authorities is provided as a largely unhypothecated grant and local authorities have the responsibility to allocate their total resources on the basis of their own local needs and priorities including the effective consultation with their electorate.

Local Government Finance

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what provision is made in local authority grant aided expenditure allocations for the funding of administrative support, consultative meetings and other expenses incurred by community councils.

Mr Tom McCabe: The legislative framework under which community council schemes are established gives local authorities the freedom to determine for themselves the appropriate level of funding and support for community councils in their area. There is no specific grant aided expenditure provision for the funding of administration support, consultative meetings and other expenses incurred by community councils included in the core local government finance settlement.

Local Government Finance

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will (a) receive and (b) respond to the final report of the independent local government finance review, chaired by Sir Peter Burt.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Local Government Finance Review Committee informed me in March that it expected to report by the end of October 2006. We expect to receive the report shortly before it is published and we will respond once we have been able to consider fully all its findings.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many hospital admissions resulted from deliberate self-harm by people under 16 in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board area.

Lewis Macdonald: Table 1:

  Number of Continuous In-Patient Stays (CIS) Involving an Admission Due to Deliberate Self Harm in Children Under 16 Years, by NHS Board of Residence; Year Ending 31 December 1999-2004.

  

 NHS Board of Residence
 Year Ending 31 December


 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004


 Scotland
 582
 672
 704
 736
 713
 587


 Argyll and Clyde
 55
 57
 57
 67
 46
 42


 Ayrshire and Arran
 54
 59
 45
 68
 70
 84


 Borders
 10
 8
 19
 17
 15
 17


 Dumfries and Galloway
 19
 18
 11
 15
 12
 6


 Fife
 40
 46
 51
 63
 69
 42


 Forth Valley
 23
 43
 50
 37
 21
 20


 Grampian
 63
 74
 118
 124
 106
 112


 Greater Glasgow
 103
 101
 85
 80
 79
 64


 Highland
 13
 20
 29
 15
 36
 24


 Lanarkshire
 54
 56
 70
 60
 69
 50


 Lothian
 83
 76
 94
 120
 122
 82


 Orkney
 2
 5
 2
 2
 2
 -


 Shetland
 1
 8
 1
 3
 4
 3


 Tayside
 62
 95
 70
 56
 51
 35


 Western Isles
 -
 6
 2
 9
 11
 6


 Other
 4
 3
 2
 5
 3
 2



  Please note that across Scotland varying admissions policies apply. In some health board areas everyone under the age of 16 treated in hospital for injuries as the result of deliberate self-harm will be admitted. This is not the case in other areas.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to raise awareness of deliberate self-harm among young people.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive is currently involved in several initiatives that are aimed at raising awareness of self-harm among young people.

  The See Me campaign is currently involved in a phase of campaign activity aimed at children and young people that specifically addresses self-harming behaviour and challenges attitudes towards those who self-harm.

  The Scottish Executive’s Children and Adolescent Mental Health Framework is inclusive of those who self-harm. Heads Up Scotland, the National Project for Children and Young People’s Mental Health aims to support local work to improve the mental health and well-being of children and young people.

  Choose Life the Executive’s Suicide Prevention Strategy and Action Plan is being implemented through action plans agreed with Community Planning Partners in each local authority area in Scotland. A range of these action plans include funding for work to tackle self-harm among young people, where self-harm has been identified as a risk factor that can cause suicide.

  NHS Health Scotland has produced an information and resource booklet Talking about Self-harm designed for individuals, primarily those who are over 16 years old who are self-harming and their peers and families.

  The Executive will seek further opportunities to build on this work in the future.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it audits and monitors the promotion of positive mental health across Scotland to ensure that the same set of standards is applied in all relevant local health bodies and local authority departments.

Lewis Macdonald: Local authorities and health boards in Scotland do not have specific set targets for the promotion of positive mental health. Therefore, monitoring and audit specifically of such targets is not currently required.

  Health Ministers undertake, each year with individual health boards, an annual review to discuss key issues around performance. This includes performance on all aspects of mental health including the actions taken by health boards, as part of health improvement strategies, to promote positive mental health.

  The positive mental health messages and actions required under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 are being delivered by local authorities nationally. Each local authority is at a different stage of development and progress is being monitored as part of on-going attention to delivery of the act by partner agencies.

Mental Health

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities have a positive mental health strategy in place.

Lewis Macdonald: Local authorities have a duty under Sections 25 to 27 of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 to provide services designed to promote the well-being and social development of people with a mental disorder.

  The positive mental health messages and actions required under the act 2003 are being delivered by local authorities nationally. Each local authority is at a different stage of development and progress is being monitored as part of on-going attention to delivery of the act by partner agencies.

NHS Boards

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the (a) names of, (b) occupations of and (c) areas represented by the members of the recently created NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Mr Andy Kerr: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-23997 on 15 March 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

  Interviews were scheduled on 26 April 2006 and on 5 May 2006 to increase board membership on the Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board following the recent transfer of responsibility for the Argyll and Clyde area.

Non-Departmental Public Bodies

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many non-departmental public bodies will not have final agreed budgets in place prior to the commencement of the 2006-07 financial year.

Mr Tom McCabe: All non-departmental public bodies were informed of their initial budgets for 2006-07 prior to the commencement of the financial year. As with Scottish Executive departments, these budgets are subject to in-year revision as appropriate.

Non-Domestic Rates

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what date is used as the base date for the rateable value used to set non-domestic water rates.

Rhona Brankin: I refer the member to the question S2W-20619, answered on 24 November 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Non-Domestic Rates

David McLetchie (Edinburgh Pentlands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was collected in total from non-domestic rates in 2005-06 and what the projected amount is for 2006-07.

Mr Tom McCabe: The latest estimate of non-domestic rate income for 2005-06 amounts to £1,931 million. This figure is based on the mid-year returns provided to the Scottish Executive by councils in October 2005. Final audited returns are not due to be submitted until February 2007, in accordance with the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

  The forecast amount of non-domestic rate income in 2006-07 is £1,904 million. This is lower than 2005-06 as a result of the reduction in the poundage rate, partially offset by buoyancy, outstanding appeals and revaluations.

Nursing

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to fulfil its commitment to treble the number of nurse consultants by 2007.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Partnership Agreement commitment to treble the number of nurse consultants to 54 by 2007, has been fulfilled. There are now 59 nurse consultant posts in Scotland established, approved and at various stages of the recruitment process, or vacant.

Olympic Games

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that the maximum possible number of Scottish athletes have the chance to participate in the Olympic Games.

Patricia Ferguson: We are currently considering what further investment is needed to support our talented and emerging athletes to fulfil their potential and be part of future GB Olympic and Paralympic teams. We also welcome the Chancellor’s announcement in the recent Budget of additional funding for UK Sport’s World Class Performance Programme which will benefit those Scottish athletes selected for GB/UK squads in the relevant sports.

Olympic Games

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the recent performance of the Scottish team at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, winning a record number of gold medals, indicates that a Scottish Olympic team would be able to compete with the best in the world.

Patricia Ferguson: The recent performance of the Scottish team in Melbourne indicates that it was the best prepared team ever to take part in a Commonwealth Games. Scottish athletes can and already do compete with and beat the best in the world whether they are representing Scotland or Great Britain. They do not need a Scottish Olympic team to be in a position to do so.

Olympic Games

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-20304 by Patricia Ferguson on 14 November 2005 and in light of the recent performance of the Scottish team at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, whether it has any plans to review its position in respect of support for the C-Scot campaign for a Scottish Olympic team.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to the International Olympic Committee seeking the establishment of a Scottish Olympic committee and a Scottish Olympic team, in light of the performance of the Scottish team at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and the call by the Danish Minister for Culture for Denmark’s devolved territories to have their own Olympic teams.

Patricia Ferguson: No.

Population

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will encourage the Scottish diaspora in Australia back to Scotland to live in order to help reverse the population decline.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive intends to engage with and mobilise the diaspora to further Scotland’s interests for the long-term benefit of our economy and society. We aim to encourage the diaspora’s active participation and engagement in promoting Scotland as a great country to visit, live, learn, work, do business and invest.

  During the First Minister’s recent visit to Melbourne, Australia he hosted one diaspora event and launched a quarterly diaspora E magazine, Scotland-Now which generated more than one thousand registrations within the first month. It is hoped that these contacts will lead to people deciding to return to Scotland.

Population

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will encourage the Scottish diaspora in Australia to contribute to reducing the skills shortage in Scotland.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive intends to engage with and mobilise the diaspora to further Scotland’s interests for the long-term benefit of our economy and society. We aim to encourage the diaspora’s active participation and engagement in promoting Scotland as a great country to visit, live, learn, work, do business and invest.

  During the First Minister’s recent visit to Melbourne, Australia he hosted one diaspora event and launched a quarterly diaspora E magazine, Scotland-Now which generated more than 1,000 registrations within the first month.

Population

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken, and will take, to encourage the Scottish diaspora in Australia to invest in the Scottish economy.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive intends to engage with and mobilise the Scottish diaspora to further Scotland’s interests for the long-term benefit of our economy and society. We aim to encourage the diaspora’s active participation and engagement in promoting Scotland as a great country to visit, live, learn, work, do business and in which to invest.

  Scottish Development International (SDI) has established a permanent office in Australia to extend and develop our business base and support our trade and inward investment efforts. The Executive will work closely with SDI, where appropriate, to further Scottish interests in Australia.

Recycling

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what targets it has set for the recycling of household waste.

Ross Finnie: The National Waste Plan outlines our aim to achieve 25% recycling and composting of municipal waste by 2006 and 55% by 2020 (35% recycling and 20% composting). A further target of 30% recycling and composting by 2008 was introduced in Spending Review 2004.

Renewable Energy

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to promote the development of marine renewable energy.

Allan Wilson: We are undertaking a wide range of work to promote marine renewables. At present we are considering changes to the Renewables Obligation Scotland to provide a source of long-term funding to marine developers. A consultation document will be published shortly.

  We have also announced several investments in the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC). We announced earlier this week a contribution of over £130,000 towards EMEC’s work to create international standards for marine devices and their operation. We have also agreed to contribute £650,000 towards preparing EMEC for devices such as Scottish and Southern Energy’s Neptune tidal device.

Renewable Energy

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will make an announcement on the proposal to build a 322 megawatt wind-powered generating station at Whitelee in the planning authority areas of East Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire and South Lanarkshire.

Allan Wilson: I can announce that the Scottish ministers have granted consent to this proposal in terms of section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989. Additionally, this consent carries deemed planning permission in terms of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997.

  This announcement follows a lengthy consultation process which involved a wide range of stakeholders and members of the public. Following consultation with East Ayrshire Council, East Renfrewshire Council, South Lanarkshire Council and other bodies, conditions were attached to this consent to safeguard local and environmental interests.

  The proposed development raised a number of issues in respect of its likely impact on the operation of air traffic control radars at Glasgow Airport; the NATS En Route installation at Lowther Hill and the Corse Hill weather radar operated by the MetOffice. I am pleased to confirm that, following detailed negotiation between the parties involved, solutions have been agreed to the complete satisfaction of the aviation authorities, Glasgow Airport and the MetOffice. These ensure that the wind farm development can proceed without impairing the safe operation of these facilities.

  It is estimated that the wind farm will save some 650,000 tonnes of CO2 annually. The Executive’s targets are that 18% of the electricity generated in Scotland should come from renewable sources by 2010 and 40% by 2020. This is a Programme for Government commitment and a central plank of the Scottish Climate Change Programme. This single development equates to over 5% of the total capacity likely to be required to meet the 2020 target, and is the largest single onshore wind farm to be consented in Europe.

  This is an extremely important development that underlines our commitment to renewable energy and is a significant milestone towards achieving our renewable energy and climate change targets.

Residential Care

Mr Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-23903 by Malcolm Chisholm on 20 March 2006, whether it has discussed with Viewpoint Housing Association Ltd the provision of meals to residents in specific residential homes, such as City Park in St Andrews where the number of residents requesting meals has risen and where an undertaking was given to potential residents that "Viewpoint Housing places great importance to delivering good quality and nutritional food to our residents … We have dedicated catering facilities and employ kitchen staff to manage the day to day logistics of a busy kitchen environment.".

Malcolm Chisholm: Further to the answer to question S2W-23903, I understand that Viewpoint Housing Association Ltd. has now completed its review of services and have concluded that due to the small size (28 flats) of the City Park sheltered housing development and the lack of demand, a meals service is not sustainable. The association reports an increasing and significant deficit. The Association advises that it has ensured alternative arrangements are in place and that no extra sheltered contract tenants have been left without alternative provision. In reviewing its housing support services and their value for money the association has concluded that supplying a full catering service is no longer viable and has made alternative arrangements to ensure that service users receive an acceptable and healthy option to the service that has been withdrawn. The service will be reviewed by Fife Council in July 2006 to ensure that the service meets the service user’s assessed needs.

Scotland Act 1998

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what boundaries are implied by the use of the word "Scotland" in section 29(2)(a) of the Scotland Act 1998.

Margaret Curran: The boundaries of Scotland are well recognised. They are not therefore set out in the Scotland Act 1998 although section 126 of the Act makes clear that "Scotland" includes so much of the internal waters and territorial sea of the United Kingdom as are adjacent to Scotland.

Sectarianism

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will involve the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland and the Catholic Church in Scotland in the development of its Action Plan on Tackling Sectarianism in Scotland, in the Task Group on Tackling Sectarianism or in the Working Group on Marches and Parades.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive is involved in an on-going dialogue with the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland and the Catholic Church on how to tackle sectarianism. These discussions have allowed the views of both to be taken into account in the development of the Action Plan on Tackling Sectarianism in Scotland and the initiatives which will deliver on these actions. In particular, the Orange Lodge has contributed to documents which are being prepared by the Working Group on Marches and Parades and members of the Catholic Church are represented on the Task Group on Tackling Sectarianism, the Executive’s Core Liaison Group and at the annual meetings between the First Minister and Action of Churches Together in Scotland.

Speech and Language Therapists

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many speech and language therapists there have been in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board area.

Mr Andy Kerr: Information on speech and language therapists in NHS Scotland is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics, at www.isdscotland.org/workforce .

  Section F gives details of allied health professional staff employed in NHS Scotland. In particular, table F1 and F2 shows the whole-time equivalent (WTE) and headcount number of speech and language therapists by NHS board from 1995 onwards. Latest available figures are at 30 September 2005.

  In the period 2000-05, there has been a 12.1% growth in the number of whole-time equivalent qualified Speech and Language Therapists in NHSScotland.

Suicide

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many recorded suicides there were of children under 16 in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board area.

George Lyon: In presenting statistics on suicides it is conventional to combine deaths classified as intentional self-harm (suicides) with those classified as events of undetermined intent. This is because the majority of the latter are likely to have been suicides. However, this assumption is known to be less valid for children, particularly those aged under 10. For this reason the following table shows the two categories separately and restricts the information on events of undetermined intent to deaths aged 10 to 15.

  

 NHS Board Area1
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004


 Deaths Aged Under 16 from Intentional Self-Harm (Suicides)
 
 


 Scotland
 4
 8
 6
 3
 4
 3


 Grampian
 1
 2
 
 
 
 


 Tayside
 
 
 
 
 3
 1


 Fife
 
 1
 1
 
 
 2


 Lothian
 1
 2
 1
 2
 
 


 Argyll and Clyde2
 1
 
 
 
 
 


 Greater Glasgow
 
 
 3
 1
 1
 


 Lanarkshire
 1
 3
 
 
 
 


 Ayrshire and Arran
 
 
 1
 
 
 


 Deaths Aged 10 to 15 Classified as Events of Undetermined Intent
 


 Scotland
 3
 4
 
 2
 1
 


 Lothian
 
 1
 
 1
 
 


 Forth Valley
 1
 
 
 
 
 


 Argyll and Clyde2
 
 
 
 1
 
 


 Greater Glasgow
 
 1
 
 
 
 


 Lanarkshire
 1
 2
 
 
 1
 


 Ayrshire and Arran
 1
 
 
 
 
 



  Notes:

  1. NHS board areas with no relevant deaths have been omitted.

  2. Both the deaths in Argyll and Clyde were residents of that part of Argyll and Clyde now administered by NHS Greater Glasgow.

Tourism

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff employed by VisitScotland are involved in marketing Scotland in Australia; where such staff are located, and whether any premises are utilised or occupied in Australia for this purpose.

Patricia Ferguson: The marketing of Scotland in Australia is managed by five members of the VisitScotland North America, Asia, and Pacific team, who are based in VisitScotland’s Headquarters in Edinburgh. The VisitScotland staff work in partnership with VisitBritain staff based in Sydney to market Scotland as a great place for Australians to visit.

Tourism

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the roles and remits are of VisitScotland and VisitBritain in marketing Scotland in Australia.

Patricia Ferguson: VisitBritain is the lead agency in the delivery of the Scotland brand in new and emerging markets. VisitScotland works in partnership with VisitBritain to market Scotland in Australia as a great visitor destination, with Scotland a key element of the Britain brand.

Tourism

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many visitors to Scotland arrived (a) at a Scottish airport and (b) elsewhere in the United Kingdom on a flight from Australia in each year since 1997.

Patricia Ferguson: There are currently no direct flights from Australia to Scotland, although there are a number of indirect flights to Scotland connecting within the UK and elsewhere. The number of visitors to Scotland from Australia who travelled by air to the United Kingdom since 1997 is shown in the following table:

  

 Year
Visitors (000)


 1997
 124


 1998
 82


 1999
 86


 2000
 76


 2001
 67


 2002
 77


 2003
 77


 2004
 93



  Source: International Passenger Survey.

  The estimated number of visitors for 2005 is not available yet.

  A number of visitors to Scotland from Australia also enter the UK by sea or tunnel.

Tourism

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people visited Scotland from Australia in each year since 1999.

Patricia Ferguson: The number of people who visited Scotland from Australia in each year since 1999 is shown in the following table:

  

 Year
Visitors (000)


 1999
 112


 2000
 98


 2001
 86


 2002
 100


 2003
 107


 2004
 119



  Source: International Passenger Survey.

  The estimated number of visitors for 2005 is not available yet.

Tourism

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what average amount was spent by visitors to Scotland from Australia in each year since 1997.

Patricia Ferguson: The estimated amount spent by visitors to Scotland from Australia in each year since 1997 (in money of the day) is shown in the following table:

  

 Year
£ Million


 1997
 56


 1998
 35


 1999
 50


 2000
 34


 2001
 57


 2002
 48


 2003
 49


 2004
 68



  Source: International Passenger Survey.

  The estimated amount spent by Australian visitors to Scotland in 2005 is not available yet.

Tourism

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many area tourism partnerships are in operation; what areas they cover, and what their responsibilities are.

Patricia Ferguson: There are currently 17 Area Tourism Partnerships in operation covering: Aberdeen and Grampian; Dundee and Angus; Fife; Orkney; Perthshire; Argyll, Stirling and the Trossachs; Western Isles; Edinburgh and Lothians; Dumfries and Galloway; Ayrshire and Arran; Borders; Shetland; Highlands; Glasgow; North and South Lanarkshire; Renfrewshire, and East Dunbartonshire.

  The Area Tourism Partnerships currently involve 250 individuals with approximately half representing tourism businesses and the remainder representing a cross section of the public sector. The Area Tourism Partnerships have responsibility for overseeing the production and implementation of local Tourism Action Plans; interpreting and implementing the Tourism Framework for Change at a local level and reviewing local alignment on an on-going basis; acting as a lobbying body and "voice" for local tourism, and monitoring and reporting on performance of local tourism action plans.

Voluntary Sector

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria apply to voluntary groups wishing to apply for funding from the Working for Families Fund.

Malcolm Chisholm: Working for Families projects must meet the following criteria to be considered for inclusion. Each project must: offer good value for money in terms of cost against return for client outcomes; meet the aims of the fund by contributing to the overall goal of removing child care and other barriers to employment; work with one of the three target groups (lone parents, parents on a low income, and parents with other stresses in the household); fit with the overall Working for Families delivery structure within a local authority, and complement rather than duplicate existing service provision.

  Funding decisions are taken locally by the Working for Families Steering Group following consultation with key stakeholders. In all cases, Working for Families projects respond to the local situation and current available service provision. In most cases projects are commissioned by Working for Families locally in response to identified need, as opposed to applications being received for funding, although the latter has been the agreed mechanism used in a minority of local authorities. Final sign-off of projects rests with the Scottish Executive who assess each project’s viability based on value for money and relevance to the aims of the fund.

Weather

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it currently helps to finance the Met Office to produce a weather forecast for people using Scotland’s mountains.

Patricia Ferguson: The Scottish Executive does not currently help to finance a weather forecast for people using Scotland’s mountains.

  The Executive has received a report from the Mountaineering Council of Scotland and is currently considering a funding proposal for a more detailed mountain weather forecast service covering Scotland’s five main climbing areas: Glen Coe; Lochaber; Creag Meagaidh; Northern Cairngorms, and Southern Cairngorms.